Food From Family Farms Stars At Farm Aid 2012

Food From Family Farms Stars At Farm Aid 2012

Central Pennsylvania Farmers, Businesses and Organizations Bring Local Flavor to All-Day Music Festival

HERSHEY, Pa., Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Farm Aid 2012 at Hersheypark Stadium on Sept. 22 will bring together an all-star lineup and more than 29,000 fans to celebrate the good food that family farms provide us all. From interactive, hands-on workshops in the HOMEGROWN Village to holding a food collection for those in need, Farm Aid 2012 will showcase the innovation and ingenuity of family farmers.

Central Pennsylvania farmers, businesses and nonprofit organizations are pitching in to make sure this year's Farm Aid benefit concert provides concertgoers with family farm experiences that are distinctly Pennsylvanian. Local partners will help Farm Aid bring family farm-sourced ingredients to HOMEGROWN Concessions®; inform concertgoers in the HOMEGROWN Village about the work family farmers do to protect our economy, our environment and our health; and achieve recycling and composting goals.

HOMEGROWN Youthmarket's farm fresh stand, organized by GrowNYC and staffed with local FFA youth from the Milton Hershey School, will offer concertgoers fresh fruit from local farms, Pennsylvania pretzels, baked goods and local cheeses. Beverages include fresh limeade, lemonade and organic coffee.

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is partnering with Farm Aid and Giant Food Stores to help meet the needs of the hungry across the region by collecting non-perishable food items from concertgoers at the main entrance to Hersheypark Stadium. Concertgoers can bring products that are in boxes, cans or plastic bottles, and do not have to be refrigerated. Suggested donation items include canned tuna, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, hearty cold weather meals like stew and soup, peanut butter and baby food. Learn more at www.centralpafoodbank.org.

Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village will feature hands-on activities that give concertgoers a chance to meet farmers, dig in and learn about the ways family farmers are growing good food for all of us. From composting, seed saving and ice cream churning to farm trivia games like, "Guess which country the food in your grocery store comes from" and the "Wheel of Agriculture," concertgoers can learn more about the roots of their food.

The HOMEGROWN Skills Tent is where concert-goers have the opportunity to learn specific agrarian skills such as growing their own mushroom farm in a bag, how to pickle any vegetable in just 10 minutes, the fundamentals of building and managing compost piles, how to raise chickens in the backyard and much more.

Farm Aid iscomposting and recycling in order to achieve minimal waste goals at Hersheypark Stadium. All compostable waste at the concert will be turned into valuable agricultural material to improve the health of soil. A sizeable volunteer effort will be on hand to help concertgoers differentiate between landfill-bound trash, recyclables like plastic and compostables, such as food waste and compostable foodservice-ware.

Channels Food Rescue, Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and Hershey Food Bank will partner with Farm Aid 2012's backstage catering operation to conduct a food rescue to donate prepared foods and surplus items that are not used during the concert.

The Farm Aid 2012 webcast, Farm Aid 2012: A Backstage Pass, will allow fans at home to share in the excitement through a special presentation fromHersheypark Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 8 to 11 p.m. EDT at www.farmaid.org.

For nearly 30 years, Farm Aid's work with family farmers has helped to grow the Good Food Movement — the increasing demand for and accessibility of local, organic, humanely raised, family farm food. Each year the annual concert provides an opportunity to raise awareness and connect farmers to eaters.

About Farm AidFarm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. Since 1985, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $40 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.